GON Reader Question
#1
Do you color your hair and do you have a purple streak?
Hi Maria, I've been a GON follower for years. Thank you for all of your helpful advice. May I ask you a personal question?
Do you color your hair and do you have a purple streak? If so, how do you keep up with it? How often do you go to the salon for re-dos or touch-ups?
I'd like to do something similar, but am concerned about expense and needing to go to the salon very often...which is frankly pretty expensive.
But I'm not ready
to go gray. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
-- Sharon D. from New Jersey
Maria's Response
Hi Sharon,
I would love to say that I don't have any gray (um...I mean sparkles) in my hair and it's all natural. But I'd be fibbing.
I do, indeed, have some help from my hair stylist. Luckily, I don't have to have my hair fully done too often...I pay her a visit every 10-12 weeks. At that time, she colors my hair with a semi-permanent solution, and I get a hair cut at that time as well. The color she uses is very close to the color my hair has been all my life...very dark brown.
And yes, I do have purple streaks. You'll be able to see it well in the photo I posted in this newsletter. Sometimes I have streaks done on both sides of my hair, sometimes just one, and sometimes I don't
have it done all it. It depends what my mood is when I visit the stylist.
When I do get it done, it is definitely more challenging and time-consuming. My stylist has to first bleach that
section of my hair, then she has to thoroughly dry it, and then color that section purple.
I love the way it looks, but you should be aware of a few things.
a) After you get it done, you'll have to wait at least 3 days to wash your hair.
b) In those first few days, you'll see a lot of purple dye in the shower, which means you'll have to wash it up right away so it doesn't end up staining the shower.
c) You will not be able to go to bed with wet hair, as doing so will stain your pillow case.
d) When you do shower, the water should be lukewarm (not hot), or you'll have to get your hair dyed a lot more often.
e) Finally, you will need to purchase a high-quality color-safe shampoo and conditioner.
After some time has passed (about a month), my purple streak
tends to start looking pink, signaling that the color is wearing out. I usually don't care because the pink is kind of fun for awhile. And unless I have a special occasion coming up during which I want it to be the deep purple that it looks like when I first have it done, I just wait to get it redone when I'm ready for my next color appointment.
Here are a few other tips for stretching your time between salon visits:
1. Don't wash your hair every day. I almost always am on an every-other-day schedule.
2. Don't blow dry soaking wet hair. I always allow my hair to air-dry until it's just slightly damp. My hair is very thick...so this could be an hour or two of air drying. Then I blow-dry for a few minutes to finish drying it and to style it. Blow-drying every day, and especially from soaking wet to dry, is very damaging.
4. Keep your sparkles under control...DIY (do it yourself). In between salon visits, I do a root touch-up (or two) myself to cover any grays.
You can also opt to use L'Oreal Paris Magic Root Cover Up. It's in a can and sprays on like hairspray. After spraying it on, wait a few minutes and then comb through with a black comb. The color will only last a few days and you'll then have to reapply, but it's wonderful for covering those
stray grays in a pinch.
I hope this helps you decide what you want done on your next salon visit, and that it helps you keep your hair the way you want it in between
visits.
